The path less traveled
by AimeeMarcs
Summary: The story of two best friends (Courtney and Emily) and their dreams...Sorry about the poor summary..more inside!
1. Default Chapter

This fic is based on one person from the show and her best friend and roommate, although not as much because it is told in first person. I will introduce a lot of characters I created, as well as many from GH so watch out for those. I may be posting a list of characters later just to help people out. The two main characters in the story are Courtney Matthews and Emily Morgan. The story, despite what the prologue may have you thinking, isn't too dark. It may, however be darker than some. I appreciate feedback! Thanks for reading...let me know what you think.  
  
Prologue  
It has always been difficult to see past the worst. Even when there are faint glimmers of light past all of the darkness that surrounds me, something always tears apart that hope. Despite all my best efforts, I could never focus on the good things. It is how I have always been.  
Blocking my heart always appeared to be the safest route that I could take. The farther I pushed people away, the less emotion I felt. In fact, the only emotion that I ever noticed was loneliness. Of course that was one of the easiest emotions to abolish, leaving it to be the one of easiest emotions to overcome, or more truthfully put, grow accustomed to. I can remember the exact time and place when I realized that being unattached was the safest course. I was a freshman in college, living on campus in a fairly nice dorm, with a very nice roommate. The second semester had just begun, and my roommate and I had just returned from our winter breaks. That night I got a call from my sister. She was in tears, and her words were muffled by her sobs of pain. My mother was gone. Not dead gone, she was far from that, but from then on, to my family, she was. My dad had walked in on her having sex with her boss. As I sat there listening to my baby sister try and choke out the words, I could almost feel a gate form around my heart. I felt nothing from this news. I felt no grief, no anger, and no strife. I felt absolutely nothing. And it was the most relieving feeling I had ever experienced. It took me years after that to let myself have anyone in my life.  
My mother moved out the next day. Apparently my father had been all to upset to attempt to reconcile, and had made a quick decision towards divorce. I received another phone call the next day from my sister. I couldn't help but wonder if she had even stopped crying since we hung up only 17 hours before. But I, of course, did all I could to comfort her because that was my role in the family. I was the counselor. Through all my years living at home, I felt forced into smiling. To appear as if I were the happiest kid there was. I was never happy, though, and never satisfied. It wasn't really because I had something to be upset over, but after I discovered that my mother was never who she claimed, I felt like somehow I must have been different as well. I had found out things about my mother when I was nearly eight. After that, every minor, upsetting detail was devastating for me. But of course, no one could know that. So, I plastered on my grin every morning and giggled and laughed with all the other kids. Everyone reminded me and my parents what a delightful child I was. I remember feeling proud of myself for deceiving everyone, and thinking how nice it would be to deceive myself if only for a short time. And for a short time, I almost did. I can't say that I regret anything that happened in that short few years, nor can I say that I celebrate anything. I can just say that everything happened. 


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1  
San Francisco, California. It was my home, and where my heart always returned to. I had grown up in our large house since I was 6 years old and it was the only home I remembered. It was hard for me to pull away and go to college when I was only 18. I suppose this is the only reason I stayed so close to home when high school was over. It just made me feel more secure to know that my parents, and my sister and brother were close to me. San Diego was of course still fairly far from home, but the fact that it was still in California helped me cope with being away from home. Of course after my first year in college, I realized that the distance was far from such a bad thing.  
My roommate and I got along well for never having heard of each other before we found out we would be sharing a dorm room. She was from a small town just outside of New York City. She had known my aunt Rachel who I had visited once or twice and was fairly close to. Rachel was my mother's younger sister, and I had always looked up to her. My grand parents were probably some of the most unpleasant people in all of America, and my mother had always crumbled underneath their pressure, but not Rachel. She was always tough, and stood up for herself as well as her siblings. Her move to New York was probably the biggest rebellion against her parents that she could ever formulate, but her plan worked. She got away from her parents, and her parents learned to back off.  
My mother, however, stayed in San Francisco with her parents only a 10 minute drive away. Her brother, David, and Sister Deana had done the same thing. With three out of their four children living near them, my grandparents seemed satisfied, as if they didn't need all of their children as long as they had some of them. They were almost as possessive of me and the rest of the kids in my family as they were their own children. It drove me crazier than I could ever attempt to put into words. I can't imagine how my mother put up with it her whole life. But the worst was that my grandparents rubbed off on their daughter. My room might as well have been made of glass because I had no escape from her anyways. My father, on the other hand, was quite the opposite. While he of course wanted to protect me, he let me have the freedom that every kid needs. I was always grateful for those weeks when my mother would leave town for 'business'. I of course knew that the only business she would accomplish would be in bed with her latest betrayal, but my father accepted that it was business.  
Looking back now, I think he must have figured everything out long before he saw it with his own eyes. I guess he just never wanted to admit it to himself. They had been married for so long, and he still felt some of the love that was evident in the beginning. She had lost that love when my older brother was born. I know she hated the idea of being tied down by having kids, but her parents only ambition was to have grandchildren, and the thought of failing them seemed all to devastating to her. Before she knew what she had gotten herself into, she was tied down by a husband and three children. I know the affairs had been going on long before I found out, but I was never sure exactly when she decided that her love for my father wasn't satisfying her. I didn't want to know.  
San Diego was a nice release the first year, but after my freshman year I needed to get out of California. My father and mother had joint custody of my little sister, Jennifer, but she wanted nothing more than to get as far away from my mother as possible. Despite the fact that while my mother had custody of all three of her children, she wanted to get rid of them, she had fought with all her power to get custody of her youngest. Kyle and I were now legal adults, and neither our dad nor our mom could try and get custody of us, but they were still feuding over us. When I would decide to visit home, I brought forth a war between the two as to whom I should stay with. It made my visits home rare and soon nonexistent. When college was over, I left with my ambition of being a designer still alive, even if slightly faded. I had decided that perhaps California wasn't the best place for me to live if I still wanted my sanity, but for my budgets sake, I stayed. Emily, my college roommate of four years and the only person outside of my family who I had let myself grow close to, and I bought a two bedroom apartment In Santa Barbara. With all the money her family had, she didn't need a job, but she wanted to work. My mother's side of the family, which had been rich for as long as I cared to remember, would have happily given me money, but I couldn't bear to accept anything from my mother.  
So here I was living out on my own, and flat broke. Emily refused to let me even try to pay for any of the rent until I found a steady job. We always joked that she was more like my wife than my roommate. We were both 23 years old, and fresh out of college and the next years were some of the best years of my life. Emily and I were closer than ever and had a lot of time to hang out. She was working at a bank, but was dying, just as I was, to be a fashion designer. We had throughout college shared this love for clothes, and between the two of us, must have had some of the best fashions, or at least that's how it all appeared to us. Emily of course was gorgeous enough, and fit enough to be a model, but I knew she would much rather dress the models than be one. Then there was me. I had long dirty blonde hair that always hung limply past my shoulders. My features were decent, but not stunningly beautiful as hers were. But one thing my mother always told me was right; you are your own worst critic.  
My interest in Fashion had been formed because of my aunt Rachel who had moved to New York to be just what I strived to be. She had been very successful after living in the city for nearly three years. She had gained control of the Case Agency. When she had enough money for the house and the commute to work, she bought a place outside of the city where she lives to this day with her fiancée, Marc. She was my inspiration, but that didn't seem to be doing me any good. 


	3. Chapter 2

Feedback is much appreciated! And if there is anyone who wants to see how all the families are related and their ages, and such, just ask.  
  
Chapter 2  
I didn't sleep well. I hadn't for nearly 17 years though, so I had grown sort of accustomed to the sleepless nights and early mornings. I was lucky if I fell asleep before 4 am. And one night I was  
But the phone's shrill rings had no mercy. I rolled out of bed picking the phone off of the hook to save Emily from being woken up as well. "Hello?" I grumbled falling back onto my pillow with the phone held at my ear.  
"Shit, I knew I shouldn't have called!"  
I smiled realizing who was on the other end. "What a greeting, Rachel." I laughed shaking the remaining feelings of fatigue from my mind. "I'm awake, what's up?"  
I heard her laugh over the blaring music in the background. "Why aren't you here with my now?"  
"What are you talking about?" I laughed sitting up in my bed.  
"What am I talking about?!" Rachel shrieked into the receiver. I held it away from my ear for a moment as she went on. "I can't believe you Courtney Matthews! I'm your cool aunt for god's sake." She laughed lowering the volume of her voice. I held the receiver back at my ear.  
"Rachel what is the matter?"  
"I'm getting married in two weeks, Court, and you are supposed to be here for my support and party planner!"  
I laughed, "It sounds to me like you are finding parties on your own just fine."  
"Oh this? This is a party for a friend and client of mine. Jesse Richards, maybe you've heard of him?"  
I nodded, "Sure I have. Famous actor and model, I know."  
"But that's not the point. The point is you and Emily need to pack your bags. Your flight leaves at 9 o'clock tomorrow night. I'll pick you up at the air port."  
"What?" I gasped not sure whether to be happy or angry.  
"Oh stop the dramatic act, you know you want to come. So just be on the flight, and let me take care of the rest! Look I need to go. I'll see you tomorrow."  
"Bye, Rach." I laughed falling back onto the bed, getting no sleep the rest of the night.  
  
I woke up the next morning almost forgetting the call I had received. But another phone call quickly reminded me. It was Rachel again warning me to make sure that Emily and I packed swim suits and 'party clothes'. What she meant by party clothes I wasn't quite sure of. But her response to this was to do 'a bit of shopping'. Now I knew what that meant. I would leave New York with ten times the amount of clothes I showed up with. I knew money wasn't much of a problem; Rachel had more than she knew what to do with.  
I envied her so much. Somehow she had managed to follow her every ambition and succeed. It still amazed me. She had been just like me at my age. Not wanting to open her heart, and not sure where life was taking her. But now she was 29 and engaged with a solid future in the fashion industry. She owned the Coral Modeling Company which was given to her by her former boss and creator of the company, Jessica Coral-Davis. She had retired and handed her job off to Rachel, who was her top agent. I suppose that was her reward for making friends in high places.  
I think that my dream of designing clothes was very distant for me now. I honestly just wanted anything that had to do with the modeling business. It just all seemed so appealing to me.  
I was pulled from my thoughts by a sharp knock at my apartment door. Emily walked lazily out of her room blinking her eyes against the sunlight pouring through the open window. She glanced at me, and I gave her a slight shrug not knowing who was at the door, as she threw herself onto the couch.  
I chuckled slightly to myself as I heard another knock on the door. "I'm coming," I called as I made my way to the door. I opened the door and had to fight the impulse to scream from shock. It was my mother wearing her usual smile that looked as if it were plastered onto her face most uncomfortably.  
I glanced at her in shock, taking in her new look. It seemed that every time I set eyes on her she looked different. Her once bright blonde hair that matched my own had now been changed to a dark brown with sandy blonde highlights. To add to it, she had hacked off the hair that she hadn't cut since she was 30. It was now cut just past her ears with bangs hanging over her forehead. I wasn't exactly sure how to react to her. Not only had my mother showed up at my door, she didn't look like the mother that I hated as much as I did.  
"Mom," I stopped there, not sure where I had expected the sentence to take me.  
"Hi honey." She smiled at me brushing a loose bang out of her eye. It was then that I noticed the bag that was slung around her shoulder.  
My eyes drifted from her new look and stared horrified at the bag that I could only fear was stuffed with clothes. "What are you doing here?" I asked still staring at the bag with a sudden pang of nausea.  
"My house is having some work done, and we needed a place to stay." She shrugged as if I should have known all this without needing to ask.  
"And what made you chose this house?" I choked out the words.  
"You are my daughter, Courtney."  
"By blood, yes I am." I said fighting the urge to punch that smile off her face. "But why didn't you stay with Kyle? Or better yet David. Christine is staying in her dorm now, you could have her room." I said referring to my uncle and his daughter.  
My mother shook her head, "I don't want to bother David. His wife and he are having a slight argument, and I don't need to get in the middle."  
I let out a short laugh, "Since when was getting in the middle ever a problem?" I couldn't believe she was expecting me to let her in my home with open arms. And then my brain did a little loop back, and realized exactly what she had said. "Wait a minute...We?" I whispered scared of who might be coming with her.  
Just then I heard footsteps coming from down the hall. I waited tensing up slightly. Emily had now come up behind me and was staring, just as I had been, at my mother. The mystery person soon walked around the corner. We caught eyes, and a smile erupted on both our faces. Jenny came running at me, her long brown hair thrown behind her. She jumped into my open arms and I hugged her tightly. I hadn't seen my sister in over a year. Every break she got at college she had felt forced to stay with either mom or dad, despite all the begging I did for them to let her stay with Emily and me for a while.  
She pulled back still smiling at me, "I missed you so much, Courtney!" She laughed. She finally noticed Emily, and ran to give her a hug too.  
I glanced back at my mother who looked incredibly bored at the reunion. "Mom, Emily and I are leaving town. We're going to," I suddenly cut off, not sure if bringing up Rachel's wedding was the brightest thing to do. "Well we're going to a wedding."  
My mother laughed, "Honey, if you mean Rachel's wedding then no you aren't going."  
I stared at her in shock. "What is that supposed to mean?"  
"I am not letting you go to the wedding of someone like her." She said very calmly as if nothing she was saying could possibly offend the three girls staring back at her. "That woman tore our family apart."  
"That woman is your sister!" I yelled. "And who are you to say who tore apart the family that you pretend to care so much about? I think that you tore us apart mom. No one but you."  
"You are entitled to your opinion." She shrugged. "But as your mother, I am asking you not to go.  
I smiled at her, "In that case," I laughed, "I'm definitely going. Good luck finding somewhere to stay." I smiled at her one last time before closing the door on her.  
I heard her banging on the door screaming for us to let her in. She yelled for us to send Jenny out. I opened the door quickly before saying, "Jenny is coming with us. She'll be back in a few weeks and will be spending the rest of the summer at our house. So when we get back to California, you'll know because we'll drive up to your house to pick up her things. See you then mommy." I said sweetly closing the door once again. This time, there was no more banging to be heard. 


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3  
I hated the relationship we had. I wanted to be one of those mother and daughter pairings that were the best of friends. But we had never been like that. It was even worse when I saw glimmers of the mother that I wanted to have, but I couldn't control the anger from years ago. My own mother came to my home almost in an act of friendship and I slammed the door in her face. I was repulsed with myself. But then I remembered all the times I felt my skin burn from where she had hit me. And I remembered all the times I felt my heart ache when she locked me in my room. And I remembered all the times my ears burnt with the sound of her having sex with a man I had never met before in the next room. And all the times she threatened me if I were to tell my father. But there was the one time that her newest betrayal was someone close to me. Too close for comfort, in fact.  
My best friend, Charlie had always been oddly fascinated with my mother. She was nicer to him than she had ever been with me or anyone in my family for that matter. She was like a mentor to him. He was 3 years older than be, but he had always been like another big brother. I wasn't sure exactly when I fell for him, but I fell hard. It was my first love. We started dating when I was only 16. Charlie had just finished his first year of college, and came home with promises of his love. We dated for two years after that. On the night of his 21 birthday, which was two weeks before I was due to move into my dorm for college, a few of his friends and I planned him a surprise birthday party. As he was now 21, my mother had been kind enough to provide whatever alcohol she had in the house, and a few extras. Being underage, I had refused to drink. I wasn't really keen on the idea of it having seen my brother drunk a few times in his college years, and having to comfort him the next day while he suffered severe hangovers. My mom however encouraged me to drink, while she consumed nothing for a change. She would sit on the couch most of the night changing the music when necessary. After a while, she announced that she would be upstairs so she could let us "crazy kids" have our fun. I still had yet to drink any of the beer, but all the rest of the guys and girls there were gone. The party had grown larger than I had expected, but I suppose once one person is invited the crowd will just multiply. Because of the crowds, it took me a while to realize that Charlie, the drunkest of them all, was missing. Curious as to where he was, I pushed my way through the crowds checking the rooms to see if he was sick. Little did I know that I would be the sick on after what I found. I cringed at the memory alone. Charlie remembered nothing the next day, or so he said, and I couldn't help but believe him. He had always been so honest, and that was part of the reason I loved him. My mother, on the other hand, remembered everything, and gladly told me every bit of detail. How he had stumbled in there looking for somewhere to sleep everything off, how she had convinced his incoherent self to lie down with her, and how she had thrown herself at him. She justified it by telling me she was testing him, seeing just how faithful he was to me. I just couldn't see how getting an obviously drunk man who was out of his senses to sleep with her was a test of faith. I can't say that I ever completely forgave Charlie. I'm not even sure if he completely forgave himself. But I told him I forgave him, and I told myself I forgave him, but every time we were close, the images would flash before me. I know he didn't know what was going on, but I just couldn't be with him. That night was just another slap in the face from my mother. Perhaps when she showed up at my door had been an act of making peace with our cold war, or perhaps it was just as she had said, she had no where else to stay. But part of me wanted her to want to make peace. But the more sensible part of me realized that that would never happen. But in the mean time, I made a silent resolution to myself to act as though we loved each other, just as she did when we weren't alone. It would make everything easier.  
  
Rachel had pulled a few strings when I called her asking if we could get Jenny to New York as well. We weren't sitting anywhere near her, but at least we would be on the same plane. She had gone off the rest of the day to spend some time with her boyfriend Collin, who she refused to admit was in fact her boyfriend. Emily had taken the sudden news of a trip very well. She was good friends with her boss, and easily got the next few weeks off, and after some pleading with my boss, I got the time off as well. After the two of us were completely packed, which took practically all day because we can never get anything done when we are together, it was already time to get to the airport. Jenny had already arrived home, and by the look of her darkened skin, she and Collin had spent most of the day outside. And so the three of us set out for the airport excited to finally get away from California for a while. As I sat down in my seat next to Emily, and watched Jenny sit down uncomfortably next to an attractive guy who looked to be about 25, I heard my phone give a shrill ring. I smiled at Emily and quickly answered it. "Hello?" "Rachel, where are you right now?" I heard my brother Kyle on the other end. "I'm in a plane, Kyle, where are you?" "I'm at my house which has just been invaded." He sighed as I heard the excited shriek of his 2 year old daughter, Rose, followed by a dogs bark. "Oh Kyle," I laughed, "I was leaving town! I couldn't let her stay with me if I was leaving town!" "She said you took Jenny with her." "Yeah, she's on the plane too." "And then slammed the door in her face." Kyle sighed. I couldn't tell if he was angry about this, or impressed. Knowing Kyle, I could only assume that he was impressed but would refuse to show it, and soon try and cover it up with anger. "What were you thinking, Rachel?" Bingo. "I wasn't thinking, alright." I admitted, "I was sort of shocked. I mean, I haven't seen her in over two years, and now suddenly she wants to be roomies? It was all sort of a surprise to me." I sighed rubbing my forehead. "Well that's understandable. But maybe if you would go home for dinner every once in a while, it wouldn't have been so shocking." I sighed not wanting to have this same argument with Kyle. "You're right." By his silence, I noticed that that was the last thing he had expected to hear from me. "Next time mom invites me home for dinner, I will come. I promise." There was another moment of silence before Kyle spoke again, "Thanks, Rachel. But that still doesn't fix the problem at hand." I sighed again, "Put mom on the phone." "What?" He asked. "You heard me, put her on the phone."  
There was a crackling noise in Courtney's ear as Kyle handed the phone of to his mother, "Courtney." My mother said with in a monotone.  
"I don't blame you for being angry, Ma." I sighed, not exactly sure how this was coming out of my mouth, "But just hear me out."  
"I'm listening."  
"Kyle has a spare key to my apartment. If you want, you can stay there until your house gets finished." I said ignoring Emily's shocked expression and the waves of her hands telling me to take it back. "Stay in my room. Sorry about the slight mess. When Emily and I get home Jenny can sleep on the couch, and I'll sleep on the floor."  
There was a slight pause before mom spoke again, "I still don't want you going to Rachel's wedding." I rolled my eyes. The one time I tried to be nice, she couldn't just accept it. "I'm already on the plane, it's too late." "That woman tore my family apart." "How so?" I asked honestly curious as to what justifications she had to the accusation on her sister. "How so?!" She repeated in an outraged tone of voice, "Well moving to that filthy city for one!" "Mom, the plane is about to take off." I sighed, slightly grateful towards the stewardess miming for me to hang up the phone. "Don't throw any wild parties while we're away." I said sarcastically. "Well fine. If you chose to waste a few weeks in New York be my guest. Goodbye." "Bye mom." I sighed, hanging up the phone. That was the most civil conversation we had had in years. 


End file.
